Malcolm Lewis
Pragmatic, entrepreneurial leader with a passion for the Consumer Internet. My last four startups, including two I founded and funded myself, have resulted in three acquisitions by public companies and one of the most successful IPOs of all time.
Currently SVP and General Manager of Spreebird at Local Corp, a new business focused on delivering customer acquisition and retention solutions to local merchants. Read more at Spreebird Merchant Solutions.
Prior to my current role, I founded and funded Fablistic, a personalized recommendations service that helps users find new things to do and places to go based on recommendations from other users with similar tastes and interests. Everything a user cares about in one place. Books, movies, restaurants, stores, TV shows, websites, anything. Check out the FAQ to learn more. Local Corp acquired Fablistic in January 2011.
Prior to Fablistic, I was SVP and General Manager of Private Label Local Search for Local Corp following their 2007 acquisition of PremierGuide, a self/angel-funded company I built from the ground up into the leading private label local search solution for media companies like the Dallas Morning News and the Washington Post. Following the acquisition, I ran PremierGuide as a riiculously profitable P&L, growing revenues ten-fold to $10M over the next two years.
Prior to PremierGuide, I was VP of Marketing for Vayusphere, a corporate instant messaging startup, and a strategic marketing consultant for Silicon Valley venture capital firms.
Previously, I was VP of Industry Communications for Vitria Technology, where I helped grow the company from an early-stage startup, with 30 employees and a single customer, to a public company with 1,100 employees and annual sales of $150 million. I led Vitria's creation of the business process management (BPM) segment within the enterprise application integration (EAI) market, and successfully positioned Vitria as the leading player in this new segment. I also played a central role in the company's highly successful IPO, which generated one of the greatest venture returns of all time.
Prior to Vitria, I was Director of Marketing for Interweave Software, a Web-based business intelligence software startup that we sold to Cognos Corp in 1997. Prior to Interweave, I held product marketing and development positions at Oracle Corp and Nestle Rowntree (UK).
I hold a masters degree in Computer Science, with a specialization in artifical intelligence and expert systems, from Sheffield Hallam University (England). I also hold a bachelors degree in Sport Science from Liverpool John Moores University (England).
Beyond family, I enjoy photography, running and snowboarding. For fun, and to raise money for cancer research, I completed 44 unofficial half-marathons in 2010, my 44th year. In completing this goal I covered 576.38 miles in a combined time of 4 days, 8 hours, 28 minutes, 58 seconds.